Protecting My Grace
by LightWorldMidna
Summary: Impa doesn't believe Link is good enough to protect Zelda. When Zelda says that she loves Link, Impa is not happy. Is she jealous? When Zelda remembers a promise Hylia made to Impa, everything becomes clear. Entry for TheGroosenator's Skyward Sword yuri contest. YURI. ZeldaxImpa. One-Shot


This isn't the type of story I normally write, but I was really bored and had a bad case of writers block concerning my own stories. So this is an entry for TheGroosenator's **"TG's Skyward Sword yuri contest" **So need I say it? If you don't like yuri, don't read. Mm'kay?

This was originally just going to be a normal one-shot, but I got stuck half way through and found this competition, so I changed it. I hope you enjoy anyway :3

* * *

I cast my eyes to the ground, tucked away my harp and straightened out the creases in my dress.

"Are you ready now?" Impa walked up beside me, staring into the portal of shining light that would take us to the Lanayru Desert, and to the Temple of Time.

I gave my head a small shake. She cast me a sideways glance that was neither surprised nor commanding "Not yet. Would you... Would you give me a moment?" Impa nodded, staring past the portal at the Statue of the Goddess beyond.

I didn't want to leave yet, because, despite what she had said, I wanted to see Link. At least to know that he cared about me enough to follow me. They had told me he would, but I didn't believe it. I clutched handfuls of my skirt and stared at the ground, trying to look as if I were deep in thought. I stayed that way for a few minutes, trying to buy Link some time. But I knew I couldn't keep Impa waiting for too long, as she might suspect me of what I was doing. And then again, Link may not even be following me.

I sighed, cast a glance at Impa and straightened out my dress again. "Let's go." I said. I took one step towards the portal, and from behind me heard the sound of the door opening. I quickly looked at Impa, but she gave no signs of having heard it. Then came a few footsteps. Familiar footsteps.

I couldn't help myself. I turned on my heel. "Link!" Before me stood my best friend who followed me into a forsaken land. Signs of his struggle to follow me were all over him. His green tunic was singed in places and covered in soot, mud and the odd blood-stain, and his boots and gloves were scuffed all over. His dirty-blonde hair was all over the place as usual, and he had a graze on his cheek. But what I noticed more than anything else was the smile on his face and the tears in his eyes.

I took a step towards him, but Impa stopped me. "You cannot go to him, Your Grace. Remember what we discussed. Restrain yourself. Focus on the task at hand."

I looked up at her, then back to Link. "I... I have to go." His face fell, and I felt like ignoring everything Impa had said to me. "I'm sorry, Link." I took a deep breath, and turned back to the portal. I stepped into the light, taking a moment to look back over my shoulder at him.

The light was almost blinding, but I could still hear what was going on. Link ran up the steps after me, but stopped as Impa growled. "It took you far too long to get here. Looking at you, I fear the goddess is mistaken in her choice of agents." I felt a spike of pure bitterness for my guide.

"If this failure is any indication, you have no hope of defending Her Grace from those who seek to assail her." She paused. "Do my words anger you, boy? Do my words sting?" She chuckled. "Let them. If I had not come when I did, your Zelda would already have fallen into the hands of the enemy." I let my shoulders drop when I realised what she said was true.

"The truth of it is you were late. You were late, and you failed to protect her." There was a long pause. "I sent Zelda ahead to learn more of the fate in which she is destined to play a part. Listen well, chosen one." I expected her to say 'chosen one' like it was a joke, but instead it sounded almost motherly. "If you wish to be of help to Her Grace, you must summon a shred of courage and face the trials laid out before you. Only when you've conquered the trials will you be of use to Zelda. No sooner. Am I understood?"

I don't think she even gave him a chance to answer, as I heard her footsteps coming towards me. When they stopped, the light around me changed, then disappeared. I wasn't in the Earth Spring anymore, and Link was gone.

* * *

I avoided speaking to Impa most of the way. She seemed to respect my silence. We reached the Temple of Time soon after, and she decided we should rest before performing the next ritual. We sat together against the wall. At first, the silence continued, but eventually she tried to start a conversation.

"Do you really think that boy has what it takes to protect you?" She asked. I simply nodded, not even looking at her. She sighed. "I worry he is too soft."

"You barely know him." I replied.

"It is true, I have yet to see him fight. Maybe he was hindered by those who tried to capture you along the way, I don't know. But that does not change the fact that he was too late to protect you, Your Grace. The evidence I have seen suggests he is not suitable."

I snorted and looked away. "Maybe you're just making assumptions. After all, you don't know that maybe this Demon Lord guy you're telling me about slowed him down."

Impa sighed. "The Demon Lord is after you, not the boy."

"Stop calling him that. His name is Link." I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my head upon them.

There was a pause. "My apologies. Link... What is he like?"

"What?" I looked at her, confused.

"The Link you know. What is he like? Why do you trust him?"

"He..." I looked up at the sky and smiled. "What can I say? He's very trustworthy. He oversleeps a lot, but he's never once broken a promise to meet me, no matter how early. He's caught me when I've fallen, he's tried his best for me..." I sighed. "I don't care that maybe just once, he wasn't quick enough to catch me. I don't care that he was once unable to keep his promise. And I don't care that he was late to meet me, just once. These are extenuating circumstances."

Impa was silent for a long while. "I see. They are, indeed."

I looked at her. "What's the matter?"

She looked away. "You want him to protect you, don't you?" She asked quietly. "I don't want you to be disappointed."

I shook my head. "I won't be." I replied defiantly. "I know that my judgement, even if in a previous lifetime, isn't wrong."

She smiled, almost self-mockingly. "I see."

"I trust him." I said.

We sat in silence for a long time after that. Eventually, she pulled herself up. "Maybe this Link child will pull through for you, Your Grace. We can only hope. But it's high time we completed this ritual and were on our way."

"Okay." I stood up and followed her across the temple to the Gate of Time. She stopped half way across. "Impa?" I asked, slowing to a halt behind her.

She didn't turn round, and if the wind had been blowing the other way, I wouldn't have heard her. "You... You love him, don't you?"

I couldn't help breaking into a small smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do." She said nothing, and continued walking. "Impa! If... If something's wrong, you'd tell me, wouldn't you?"

Taking me by surprise, she whirled round, planting her hands on my shoulders. "Do you know why I'm here?!" She cried.

"What?"

She shook me slightly. "Do you know why, you, why Hylia, chose me to protect you?"

"N-no," I replied. "I don't remember that."

"I've been alive for thousands and thousands of years, just waiting to find you! You, Hylia, granted me enough life to see you now, and do you know what for?"

I shook my head. "I really don't know, Impa..." I whispered.

"I... I loved you. I love you, Your Grace. You told me... You said that if I protected you, these years into the future, then I'd be able to have what I most desired. I would be able to be with you! That... That was what kept me going, all these years, waiting for you!"

I felt torn. Something inside me made this seem so familiar...

_"Hylia!" She cried. I turned to face her as she came running towards me. She fell to her knees only a few metres before me, panting._

_"Impa? What's wrong?"_

_"I heard!" She shouted._

_"Heard what?"_

_"You're leaving!" Her voice was accusing._

_My eyes widened in surprise at this, but then my gaze softened. "I am sorry, Impa. I really am. But I must. This is the only way I can save my people, and the only way I can save this land."_

_"Do you... Do you not care how that makes me feel?" She cried._

_"My dear Impa... I do know how you feel. But I, as a Goddess... It could not happen. You must understand."_

_Her eyes fell to the ground. I walked over to her and sank to one knee before her, taking her tear-stained face in my hands. I felt her emotions wash over me at the touch, and at that moment I knew exactly how she felt. "Your love for me is undying, Impa. Do not think I am rejecting you. You devotion to me is the very reason I will trust you with such a duty._

_"A... Duty?" She raised one hand to touch mine, reverently._

_I nodded. "You, as a faithful follower of mine, understand that as a Goddess, I cannot bind myself to one person."_

_She nodded, almost inperceptibly._

_"When you were told that I was leaving... What exactly were you told?"_

_"That you were going to sacrifice yourself to save us."_

_"Ah." I smiled and stood, walking to the further end of the temple. She stayed where she was. Once I had scaled the steps to the door of the back room of the Temple, I turned back to her. "That is not quite correct. As a Goddess, I cannot use the Triforce. But I also don't have the power to destroy Demise myself. I plan to give my immortal life to the seal that I will set to keep Demise at bay. In many, many years to come, I shall return to this plane, as a mortal. I will remember nothing of this life. I will choose a hero who will posses the unbreakable spirit of the holder of the Triforce. The mortal re-incarnation of me will control his journey, and ultimately will keep the seal strong enough for him to complete his mission. The Triforce will destroy Demise once and for all."_

_"So you're just going to leave me behind." Impa murmured._

_"No," I shook my head and smiled at her. "I need someone to guide me, as a mortal. I need someone to look after this Temple while I am gone." I paused and met her eyes. "Would you do that for me?"_

_"Anything!" She replied, without hesitation._

_I smiled. "Then, I grant you enough time to meet me again, in my next life. I grant you my knowledge of this journey. Do not worry, if you fail to last that long. I will forgive you."_

_"I won't fail you, Hylia."_

_I nodded. "If you succeed in protecting me, all of those years, you may have what you most desire. You may have me, to hold and to keep by your side, forever." I felt my energy begin to leave me as I set my plan into motion._

_"Hylia?" Impa called. "No, please!" She leapt to her feet and ran towards me "No, don't leave me, please!" She ran up the steps and grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me slightly. "I promise, Hylia, I promise!" She cried. "I promise I'll protect you!"_

_I smiled up at her as my form began to fade. "Then I promise I'll be yours, forever." The last thing I felt was her placing a hesitant kiss on my lips._

When my sense returned to me, I realised I was seeing a glance of the younger, more rash Impa. My body acted almost as if it wasn't my own, and I smiled at her and whispered. "Then I promise I'll be yours, forever."

Tears began to stream down Impa's face and she pulled me into her arms. I wrapped my arms around her neck, doing what Hylia had wished she could do all those years ago.

I returned that kiss.

Maybe I loved Link, but Hylia loved Impa, and I made a promise to her. And I will keep my promises. I am Hylia reborn as a mortal. I am Zelda. And I love Impa.

* * *

So? How was it? Feel free to review :D This is my first yuri fic, okay?


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